The lockdown had already reduced the group of Kashmiri migrant workers, salesmen and small-time businessmen to penury at Puttaparthi, the Andhra Pradesh town where they were stranded.
The return journey worsened their situation, burdening them with debt.
The 71 stranded men had to shell out a combined Rs 1.82 lakh for their bus travel from Puttaparthi to Hyderabad in neighbouring Telangana, from where they were to be ferried on a train to Jammu.
“We had no money and had to borrow from a few local businessmen who knew us. Each of us had to pay more than Rs 2,500 for a ticket, although the normal fare is Rs 600,” Sheikh Tariq, a small-time businessman and the group leader, told The Telegraph over the phone.
He said the group had been “stuck in the lockdown for 65 days”. Several states had imposed their own lockdown before the nationwide restrictions began on March 25.
“We had run out of food and money and lost hope of returning, but some local businessmen agreed to give us loans,” Tariq said.
With no help coming from the government, the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association told this newspaper it would repay the loan on behalf of the businessmen and the migrants.
The money was charged by the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation for the three “special buses” that ferried the 71 to Hyderabad, covering 436km.
Tariq sent this correspondent a picture of his ticket over WhatsApp, which confirmed his account. He said the Jammu and Kashmir government had promised help but later told them to make it to Hyderabad railway station on their own.
“No government came to our help, neither Andhra’s nor Jammu and Kashmir’s,” Tariq said.
Nirav Kumar, Jammu and Kashmir’s additional resident commissioner in Delhi who has been tasked with helping stranded Kashmiris return home during the lockdown, did not respond to calls from this newspaper.
Nasir Khuehami, spokesperson for the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, said he had tweeted the plight of the stranded men to the minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office, Jitendra Singh.
He said Singh had asked for details but “unfortunately, the minister later deleted the tweet”.
The student leader sent a screenshot of the minister’s reply, which read: “Shall check the facts. Thanks for sharing.”